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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437788">There is a silver lining</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/acquamarinus/pseuds/acquamarinus'>acquamarinus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Political RPF - US 20th c., Political RPF - US 21st c.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2020 US Presidential Election, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:22:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437788</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/acquamarinus/pseuds/acquamarinus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Election day at the Clintons house</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Clinton/Hillary Clinton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>There is a silver lining</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm currently writing the next chapter of Sleepover with the grandkids, but I had to write this story about the election.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Clintons quietly entered their home. They took their black masks off and left them on the hall hanger to be later disinfected together with their jacket and coat, and then used the bottle of hand sanitizer that it was now a constant of the small table at the entrance.  This had become the new reality.</p><p>Bill watched her as she shook her hair from under her sweatshirt collar and then walked towards the den.  After doing their civic duty of voting at their poll station and then taking pictures and talking to people outside, they got inside the car to be driven back to their sanctuary.  She had spent most of the ride pensively looking out of the window. He was worried about her. If there had been any justice four years before, this would have been her re-election day. He knew that it broke his heart not seeing her name on the ballot, and he can’t image what it must have felt for her. He was trying to give her some space. After 45 years of marriage and nearly half a century of being in her life, he knew when to push and when to just let her be with her thoughts.</p><p>He followed her and watched her from the doorway. She was sitting on the couch, again looking in the distance.</p><p>She could feel his eyes on her and sighed. “I’m okay.” She whispered slowly turning her head around. She then saw him sitting next to her.</p><p>He put his hand over hers. “It’s okay if you’re not” Their fingers entwined and he squeezed her hand. “You don’t always have to be strong and it’s okay to talk about it.” After their year of counseling, they learnt not to keep everything inside and to talk more to each other. But he knew that she sometimes still had difficulties to open up.</p><p>She took a deep breath, trying to reorganize her thoughts. “Does what happened four years ago still hurt? Sure. Today would have been different, if things had gone the way they should have. But after the year we had, now more than ever I know that God works in mysterious ways and everything happens for a reason.”</p><p>He was grateful that she was getting comfort from her faith. “How come?”</p><p>“If I had been in the White House, I would have missed a lot of things. I would never trade the time we spent together as a family with Chelsea, Marc and the kids for anything in the world, not even the presidency.”</p><p>He smiled and caressed her hand. They both loved their country, loved doing public service and always wanted to do the good they could for the people they could help, but at the end of the day nothing was more important than family. She would have been a great president, the best, and it hurt that at the end she hadn’t been able to reach that finish line of making history, but he was glad they had this time together.</p><p>“I mean, I would have missed a lot of the kids lives, we would have been separated, I… “</p><p>“What?” he was caught by surprise. Separated? Did she really think that their marriage wouldn’t have survived another stay at the White House? Yes, it wouldn’t have been fun being under constant scrutiny again, but when she decided to try to run again, they evaluated all pros and cons and the impact it could have on their marriage was never in question. They were older now, wiser and their bond was stronger than ever. They had just celebrated forty-five years of marriage, imagining being divorced it was just devastating.</p><p>Hillary was startled by the pain she suddenly saw on her husband’s face. She went through her words again trying to figure out what could have caused it and then she realized what she’d said. She quickly put a hand on his cheek. “Oh honey, no, I don’t mean separated as not together permanently.” She reassured him. “I mean you would probably have been here with Chelsea and the kids and I would have been alone in the White House, just seeing you through Facetime.”</p><p>Bill took a deep breath, relaxed and made sure his heart started beating again regularly. “What makes you say that I wouldn’t have been with you at White House?”</p><p>“I would have been in contact with a lot of people, even if we took more precautions that Trump certainly had, you know how it is. You see different people every day. You don’t know what I could have gotten, and I wouldn’t have put your health at risk. With your allergies, heart problems and scarred lung, you’re a subject at risk. I would never put you in harm’s way. And the residence would have felt like a prison after a while.”</p><p>Yeah, she was right. He suddenly realized that instead of being together 24/7, they probably would have been away from each other for months. After two weeks of not being with her, touching her, he would have gone crazy. They had spent the summer being waken by the grandkids jumping on their bed early in the morning because they wanted to play, they relaxed in the garden, cooked together, spent their afternoons in the swimming pool, tried not to be caught making out under the stars, made sweet gentle love countless of times.</p><p>“You’re right. There is a silver lining.” He smiled down at her and gently kissed her.</p><p>They went to bed that night knowing that it would take time for the final results to come in. They had hope for the democracy of their country. Hillary encouraged people to vote, to stay in line, to fight to have their voice heard.</p><p>The results were coming in. Record of people voting. Red states slowly turning into blue. In the following days they kept watching the cable news, hoping for some good and final news.</p><p>“This is all because of you too.” He whispered in her ear.</p><p>She shook her head. “it’s mostly because they finally saw how bad it could get.”</p><p>Typical, never taking credit when it was owned. “Babe, you started something four years ago. You were the spark of this movement. It will be your victory too.”</p><p>Finally, the results were in. President elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris.</p><p>She had tears in her eyes when she saw Kamala’s name as the new Vice President elect. A woman second in command, it was a baby step.</p><p>Yes, everything happened for a reason, and maybe her destiny was to build a path for the next generation.   </p>
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